Soldier from Kenner killed in Afghanistan combat

Army Spc. Christian J. Romig, 24, of Kenner, was killed in Afghanistan with another soldier Wednesday when insurgents attacked their unit with an IED, or improvised explosive device, the Department of Defense reported Saturday.

Army Spc. Christian J. Romig, of Kenner, was killed in Afghanistan Wednesday, the Department of Defense reported.

The department said Romig and Sgt. 1st Class Robert Pharris, 48, of Seymour, Mo., died from wounds suffered in Nangarhar Province.

Romig joined the Army in May 2008, enlisting for three years, said his sister, Gabrielle Romig. She said his family last saw him when he visited in August, and he planned to visit again at the end of this month.

Pharris was assigned to the Missouri National Guard Agri-Business Development Team IV based in Jefferson City, Mo.

A 2005 Grace King High School graduate, Romig had loved “everything Army” since he was little, his sister said.

She said he was on the wrestling team in high school, and his little brother Phillip was following in his footsteps. “He was really looking forward to seeing Phillip take state” championship honors, Gabrielle Romig said.

His sister said Romig always wanted to make people laugh.

“One time Chris answered the door for the pizza man in his wrestling singlet that was way too small,” she said. “He made sure to do stretches and lunges in front of the poor guy before taking the pizza and handing the guy the money that he had stored in the singlet, God only knows where.”

In Afghanistan, Romig was a cavalry scout and worked as a gunner on ground vehicles, she said.

When she last spoke to him on the phone, “he was very proud to serve the Army, but he was ready to come home for a visit,” she said.

Romig won an Army achievement medal in Korea last year and recently won a combat action badge after coming under enemy fire in Afghanistan, Gabrielle Romig said.